Jan 8, 2013

I often times get political. Those who follow me on Twitter or Facebook are sick of it I'm sure. I mean, when something that the Government does that I feel they shouldn't, it really chaps my hide. I mean, good men and women died to give us this remarkable, and unique form of Government that protects the people, and gives us our liberty. Any type of restriction on that gets me pretty pissed off. I don't care if it is a restriction on my 1st Amendment rights (SOPA), my 4th Amendment Rights (CISPA), my 5th Amendment Rights (NDAA) or most recently, my 2nd Amendment rights (Take your pick).

Anyway, there is only so much one can do as an individual. One of those is complaining on Facebook and Twitter, but that is only good if you use that to mobilize others to do the next thing. That is to contact your representatives and tell them how you want them to represent you. After all, we live in a Constitutional Republic, not a Democracy. That means that instead of everyone getting a voice, we elect representatives to give us a voice. It's up to you to tell them how you want to be represented.

The easiest way I have found to do that is by using a really cool website called PopVox. It allows you to contact all of your Federal representatives on individual bills that you care about. From their page:

Constituent communications are flooding and overwhelming Congressional offices. POPVOX verifies, aggregates, and simplifies communication with Congress on an open and trusted (and nonpartisan) common ground. Advocacy organizations, trade associations, unions and other groups send their members to POPVOX to take action on bills pending before Congress. Congressional staff and lawmakers log into POPVOX to measure the pulse of their district. POPVOX provides a curating interface for anyone — including Congressional staff, the public and the media — to access and understand the voice of the people.

No matter how you feel on the various bills being passed, PopVox provides a great way to contact your representatives to tell them how you feel about it. Also, it provides a great way for you to get a pulse on how the rest of America feels about something. For instance, here is a map of how people feel about Dianne Feinstein's proposed renewal of her "Assault-Weapons Ban" that expired in 2004:

As you can see 93% of Americans oppose this bill. Perhaps because more people enjoy their 2nd Amendment rights than the media would have you believe. Or maybe because the 2nd Amendment is the only Amendment using the words, "...shall not be infringed" and the rest of Americans understands that. I don't know.

Anyway, no matter what your view is on whatever the issue, PopVox is the perfect tool for you to sound off!